1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an apparatus for producing semiconductor devices and, more particularly, to an apparatus suitable for producing a large variety of semiconductor devices in small lots.
2. Description of the Related Art
In producing plastic packaged semiconductor devices, the following processes are required: a splitting process in which a semiconductor wafer is split into individual devices (hereafter referred to as dice); a die bonding process in which a die is bonded to a lead frame in which a plurality of leads have been formed; a wire bonding process in which the leads of the lead frame are bonded to electrodes of the die; and a molding process in which a part of the lead frame and the die are molded with resin. Automation is under way with respect to these processes, and automatic apparatus is already in use. Recent years have seen the development of assembling apparatus capable of performing the various processes from the die bonding process to the molding process. Unmanned operations are thus being adopted more and more widely in manufacturing processes.
At the time of changing a setup when the type of semiconductor device to be produced is changed, dice and lead frames may also need to be replaced, and it is also necessary to replace the jigs and tools used in various processes in correspondence with the relevant dice and lead frames. For this reason, in the automatic machines that are used in various processes, it has become important to allow for the replacement of jigs and tools in a single step.
However, the preparation of the necessary number of lead frames of required types and the preparation of jigs and tools according to the type and quantity of dice during a change in setup has always had to be carried out manually. For this reason, there has been a problem in that complete automation of semiconductor production has been prevented.
In addition, since preparatory work has to be done by man, there are cases where an unnecessarily long time is spent in searching for appropriate lead frames, jigs and tools during a change in setup. Time is required to resupply lead frames when they are in short supply in the midst of a production run, and errors may be committed in the selection of lead frames, jigs and tools. There has hence been another problem in that it is impossible to effect smoothly the production of a large variety of semiconductor devices in small lots.